At 47, Jeff Hamaoui was burning out.
He and his wife had led a successful career in sustainability consulting, helping brands like IKEA, Nike, and even NASA. But that business was overtaking their lives and they knew they needed to change something.
Jeff headed to Mexico for a week to attend the inaugural Modern Elder Academy program and left as Chip Conley’s partner with a new vision for his life.
Building a Bigger, Bolder Vision of Aging
For Hamaoui the solution to ageism is reframing it as a time of personal growth and purpose.
Hamaoui knows that aging is not a barrier to success. Instead, it provides us with valuable resources, wisdom, and the potential to make a significant impact in the world.
Leading the education initiatives at Modern Elder Academy, Hamaoui and the team help other Third Agers discover how they can achieve a life of meaning and embrace their untapped potential.
Combining Sustainable Farming and Aging
Hamaoui had a different vision when he went to his first MEA retreat. He wanted to shift his focus from sustainability for large organizations to community-based regenerative farming.
His idea? To build it for his own family and 26 other people.
While his original vision has sold out, he’s purchased 3,000 acres in Sante Fe, New Mexico to scale his idea into a new model of regenerative living, farming, and learning.
Awaking Older Adults to New Purpose
Something that Hamaoui didn’t expect?
The fact that his sustainable farm idea would awaken and engage older adults to their new purpose and engage them on four different fronts.
Those are:
- Soil – regenerating the land through sustainable farming techniques
- Soul – regenerating older adults into purposeful ‘modern elders’ through MEA.
- Community – support, integrate and understand the needs of the community they’re building
- Locale – create an inter-generational, cross-mentoring, physical place for people to live together in a shared endeavor
The vision has already begun to work, attracting amazing individuals from all over to help create a sustainable community that supports each other.
According to a Forbes article, the community includes authors, ethnobotanists, livestock experts, and many other world-class experts.
Creating Transformative Experiences Through Community
With our life expectancy increasing, we need to reconsider what it means to get older.
Hamaoui’s emphasis on sustainable living, community, and physical health helps us to ensure a better, longer health span.
While we might not all be moving to join him in New Mexico, we can certainly take a page out of his book to live our best Third Age!
